Shallow Teal
Just before our mating ceremony, my fated mate, Keane Blackwood, told me out of nowhere that he had to mark his widowed sister-in-law, Elara, first. He needed a pureblood heir.
And I was a half-blood werewolf.
"Talise, Elara is the best choice. Don't worry. This is purely political. You're the only one I love.
"It's only for a year. Wait for me."
His warm palm cupped my cheek, and he looked at me with the same love I'd always seen in his eyes.
I believed him.
But the very next day, news broke that Elara was pregnant. Three months along.
They'd been sneaking around behind my back for a long time.
"Why did you hide it from me?" I ran to confront him, my eyes red and my lips trembling.
"It's all for the pack." He sighed, looking tired.
For the Blackwood pack, he could put off our dates, stay out all night, and put my feelings dead last.
In the end, even my anger was dismissed as immature, and I was supposed to graciously hand over my own mate.
Suddenly I was so tired I could barely stand.
But Keane didn't seem to notice. He even asked me to give up the Luna's master suite on the top floor.
I scoffed, turned, and stormed home.
Then I opened my laptop and replied to the email from the Mediterranean medical project. "I accept your offer," I wrote.